Body found in Orange County woods was dragged there; Man facing concealment of death charge: Sheriff

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Orange County Sheriff's Office announced Monday a man is facing a charge in connection to the death of Susan Margaret Horkay, 35, out of Greensboro.

According to investigators, Horkay was also known as Skylar Brooks.

Deputies say they've charged Randel Riggsbee with concealment of a death, which is a felony in North Carolina.

In new details released Monday, investigators said that based on disturbances in the surrounding vegetation, investigators determined someone dragged Brooks' body into the woods where a man walking his dog later discovered it.

Last week, the sheriff's office said a man walking his dog on Sunday, October 15 reported he found a body off Heron Pond Drive just before 9 a.m.

Investigators said they were able to determine that Brooks and Riggsbee were acquainted and spent time together at his house on Saturday, October 14, both early that morning and then later in the afternoon. They said Riggsbee has ties to Orange County and is familiar with Heron Pond Drive, which is in a rural area west of Carrboro and south of White Cross.

The medical examiner's office told investigators their rapid toxicology screening tool detected the presence of fentanyl and cocaine in Brooks' blood.

The sheriff's office said the results are only preliminary and the results of additional toxicology tests will not be available for several months.

The medical examiner's office believes Brooks died no more than 24 hours before the body was discovered, the sheriff's office said.

Sheriff Blackwood said, "In the drug world, fentanyl is everywhere. It is critically dangerous, leading to increasing numbers of overdoses and deaths. However, those who use it to lace the substances they sell do so to boost profit. My office is committed to doing whatever we can to prevent the proliferation of this drug and the deaths it causes."

Riggsbee was booked into the Orange County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond.

Anyone with additional information relevant to this case is asked to call Investigator Gilchrist at (919) 245-2928.